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Malibu surfside news | July 19, 2018 | 13
Social snapshot
Top Web Stories
from MalibuSurfsideNews.com as of
Monday, July 16
Don’t Panic, It’s Organic
Kicking ants to the curb
1. Police investigate claim of shot fired near
Malibu Creek State Park
2. Council OKs $5K reward for local murder
case
3. Malibu City Council: Short-term rental
ordinance in the works
4. New Malibu lifeguard settles in after
completing 8-month cadet training
5. Police seek answers in possible assault of
Malibu man
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Malibu Search and Rescue Team (Malibu
SAR) - LASD (@MalibuSAR) posted July 9:
“Not a bad spot to pick to rewind 500+ feet
of our over the side winch cable. #PepperdineUniversity.
#sar #savinglives #searchandrescue
#firstresponders #teamwork”
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Malibu nonprofit Sea Save Foundation (@
seasave) posted Thursday, July 12:
“The Ocean Lost Today: H.R. 200 was
passed by the House. Terrible news for ocean
marine life. Let’s all pull together to fight this
protection dismantle before it passes the
Senate. #Ocean #marinelife #environment”
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Andy Lopez
Contributing Columnist
Invisible Gardener
The ants are coming,
the ants are coming!
Never mind — they
are here!
There are many things
the drought and heat bring,
and ants are one of them.
Take away their water
source, and the ants will do
whatever it takes to get the
water they need. So, it is
only natural that they come
to our properties. Once they
are there, they will also
find sources of food, and
that means going into our
homes. Lately, I have gotten
many emails and calls
about this, so I will do a
two-part column on ants.
The first part is what to
do to keep them out of your
house.
The main folks who
contact me are wives who
do not want to spray toxic
chemicals. Their husbands,
however, are fed up with
the ants and just want them
dead, so they grab whatever
is available.
First off, you should contact
an organic pest control
company that handles the
outdoor ants. What they do
will reduce their population.
Next week, I will
go over what should and
should not be done outside.
Because, if you continue to
do the wrong things, the organic
pest control company
will not be able to solve the
problem correctly.
I cover all of this indepth
in my book “Dances
with Ants.”
So, what to do to keep
ants out of the house?
First off, believe it or
not, you must clean up.
Food sources will only
attract more ants. When
you are cleaning, you will
need to use vinegar. Yep,
regular vinegar will not
only clean up but also will
remove their trails. Ants
leave a pheromone trail
so other ants can follow it
to the food source. If you
have a lot of ants running
around, then you can add
1 cup vinegar to a gallon
sprayer filled with water.
Leave room for the cup
of vinegar! You can spray
them with this, and it will
kill them.
When you are sure you
have killed all the ants
inside, go outside and spray
this mixture around the
base of the house. Before
you spray, try to see how
they are entering the house
and mark it with a magic
marker. You will need to
plug it up.
The best way to do this
is to get boric acid from a
local garden center. Make
sure it is pure boric acid.
Then, buy a chalking
gun along with the chalk.
Squeeze a small amount
of the chalk into a bowl
and then add 1 tablespoon
of the boric acid and mix
thoroughly. Then use that
to chalk up the entrances
you have marked. When
the ants return and try to
find their way in, it will kill
them.
Still, don’t think that will
stop them. They will find
other ways in! Be on the
lookout for how they enter
your home. It is for this reason
that before you spray
inside to kill them that you
must try to determine where
they are coming from and
then use the same chalk to
plug it up. Once you spray,
the ants will retreat, and
they will find their entrances
closed when they return.
You can also use some
natural products to kill ants.
One example is Dr. Bronner’s
soaps. They come in a
variety of flavors like peppermint,
almond, lavender,
etc. Just pick what you like
best. Dilute 2 ounces of the
soap into a quart of water.
That will also kill them.
Many natural castile
soaps on the market also
work.
Another option is essential
oil mixes. Try Thieves
Essential Oil by Young
Living. Be careful when
using essential oils, as they
are powerful. Always use
them from a trusted company
and one that comes
diluted since if you buy the
concentrate, you will probably
use too much and hurt
yourself.
Many folks do not like
using any chemical, even if
it is natural, since they are
susceptible to the smells.
For some, even using
vinegar is too much! So,
you can boil hot water and
spray that. It will kill them,
but it will not remove their
trails so you will have to do
it regularly.
There are many boric
acid baits available. Try
Terro or Drake, both of
which are made with only
sugar and boric acid. I
would also try Gardens
Alive since they have a
variety of natural ant baits.
If you find that none of
the above works, visit your
local garden center and see
if they have any natural
pyrethrum sprays for
ants. They may also carry
the various essential oil
products available for ant
control. AnaWalt Lumber
has some nice ones available.
They also have the
Terro there.
Green Thumb in Ventura
has more varieties of
natural ant control sprays
as well as Terro. Just don’t
buy the chemicals they
want to sell you. Tell them
The Invisible Gardener sent
you, and they will know
what you want!
I do want to mention
one crucial thing which I
learned over many years of
doing ant control. I started
in the sixth grade when my
mom told her neighbors
that I was controlling the
ants around our house. I
use the word controlling
because I do not like killing
anything — even ants!
They are Mother
Nature’s janitors, and we
should respect them. So,
kill them only as a last
resort. They react to the
environment. They respond
to plants when they are
stressed. That is what they
do. Stressed plants are their
primary food and water
sources. You cannot kill all
the ants. More will come to
replace them.
Next week, I will cover
ways to control them in the
yard.
Any questions? Email me at
andylopez@invisiblegardener.
com.